Izuku stands above me, shaking my shoulders, trying to get me to wake up.

"Go away..." I mutter, rolling away from him and almost falling off the edge of the bed. He doesn't give up.

"Come on, Erin! The sports festival is today!"

"Well the sports festival can go up your as-"

"Erin! Are you up yet?" Inko asks, walking into Izuku's room. I sigh, giving her an answer.

"Make sure you're ready in time," she says, smiling, then leaves the room and closes the door behind her. I groggily open my eyes and register Izuku still kneeling above me. Without a word, I sit up and hug him.

"E-Eh?! Erin?!" he asks, surprised.

"Hush, idiot. Let me hug you."

I was suddenly overtaken with memories from our past and wondered how we even got to this point. We had known eachother since we were four, and now we were fifteen. I could hardly believe it.

Once the moment passes, I let him go and grab my uniform.

"I'll meet you outside. And I promise I won't fall asleep again," I say, opening the door to leave the room.

"Forgetting something?" he calls playfully. When I look back in confusion, I realise he had his pinky finger in the air.

"Has anyone told you that you act like a kid?" I ask, smiling as I wrap my own pinky around his. He grins.

"It's a promise!"

~

After we reach the stadium, I suddenly realise how many people were here and how many I would have to compete against. This was my moment to make a name for myself without necessarily becoming a hero. I stand nervously between Hagakure and Mineta, the latter trying to grope my ass. I kick him away and turn my attention to the pro hero standing on a raised platform. I understood immediately why she was called the R-rated hero.

After tuning out to the start of her speech, I join the group near the tunnel we'll be racing through. I was overly confident, sure that I could just zap straight through. I had learnt to regulate my power enough for me to run faster than any human, yet still be able to see where I was going. The race wasn't a straight road, so I would need to be careful of obstacles in my way. In fact, when I used the lowest amount of power I could, I was still in human form. In the amount of power I would use, I would appear like a normal human but for the occasional flicker and the electricity crackling around my body.

"START!!" a voice shouts. I leap forwards, using my speed to jump above the crowd and jump from wall to wall above them. Present Mic's voice follows us and flying cameras flit through the air, providing a clear view on the HD screens in the stadium. Suddenly, a blast of freezing air flows through the tunnel. It was only pure instinct that I fully activated my Quirk and avoided the attack, zapping through the air and landing a few metres in front of the tunnel exit. Todoroki runs ahead, ice flowing behind him, and I quickly catch up.

I do a mock salute to him, two fingers to my forehead, before pulling ahead easily. He clicks his tongue, annoyed, and puts on an extra burst of speed. A giant piece of metal suddenly shoots towards me from above and I was only saved, again, by a chance flicker. I reappear next to the arm just as it pulls back from the ground, chastising myself for being careless. This was a hero school, not a playground.

Todoroki catches up and freezes the robots, then runs through them. A few students move to follow him but I send out a wave of electricity in front of them to make them shy away, just as the first robot begins to fall.

"They're unbalanced, idiots!" I shout, then zap forwards. I wasn't going to let Todoroki beat me!

I stay in human form, my form glowing with power, and I pass Todoroki again. He ices the ground and slides along it. Since we were going downhill now, he shoots past me and stumbles when he hits the dirt again. We turn a corner, running neck and neck, and both almost fall into a dark pit. It was so deep I couldn't even see the bottom, and I was sure my jumps wouldn't allow me to climb back up if I fell.

Todoroki freezes one of the ropes spanning the distance between the pillars and slides along it again, leaving me behind. I grit my teeth and amp up my power, beginning to leap from pillar to pillar. Suddenly, the pillar I landed on crumbles, dropping me into the abyss with a cry of surprise. A wave of ice rushes towards me and I slide along it, suddenly ending in a ramp as I'm dumped unceremoniously on the other side.

I look back in surprise and see Todoroki staring at me with the exact same expression, as though he can't believe he just helped me. I grin and wave to him, then wait for him to catch up so it can be fair.

"What's this?! Shouto Todoroki of class 1-A saved Erin from falling, even though they're competing with eachother?!" Present Mic's voice screams, "And Erin is WAITING for Todoroki??!!!"

Finally, Todoroki reaches me. He gives me a strange look and I run alongside him for a while, thanking him for saving me.

"Uh... no problem?" he says, sounding more like a question than an answer. I laugh, then speed up, forcing him to pay attention again. A few loud explosions make me look up, at a strangely familiar figure. Another explosion from the figure makes it click.

"Well, this is gonna get interesting..." I mutter, adding more power. Using it for so long was starting to make my chest feel uncomfortable, but I could stand it for a while longer. Suddenly, I tripped over a pot hole in the track, tumbling head-over-heels for a few metres before coming to a stop on my back. Todoroki runs past me, sending a worried glance, but he doesn't stop to ask if I'm okay. That's fair enough, though.

I struggle to my feet, wincing as I place my weight on my right ankle. It was painfully twisted, and I didn't have much time before I started falling behind too much and couldn't regain my place. I could hear the rest of the mob approaching from behind. I limp to the side, rummaging around in the foliage for something to use as a walking stick or something like that.

"What are you doing, Erin?! You're losing time!!" Present Mic's annoying voice screams. I frown, unable to find what I was looking for. All I could do for now was tie a strip of fabric around my ankle and keep going. I rip the bottom of my pants into a long enough strip to tie around the sprain, then limp forwards, slowly building up speed. I don't trust my Quirk enough right now to use it again.

Then, the ground under me explodes. I fly upwards, crying out in shock and landing painfully on my back. I twist my neck as well and feel it click, worrying me beyond words. A few people run past me and make the same mistake I did, flying backwards through a cloud of pink smoke. Todoroki and Bakugou are already about half way through and I couldn't even dream of leaping the distance to pass them.

"Erin! Are you okay?" Izuku's worried voice asks. He was standing next to me, glancing fretfully from the mine field to my splayed form in the dirt. I nod.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit shocked," I reply, wincing as I say the words. He frowns, putting down the sheet of metal he picked up and helping me to my feet.

"I've got an idea. Wait here, okay?" he says, not waiting for an answer. He sets to work digging up the mines, working his way below the sensors on top so that they don't explode. When he has a sizable pile, he makes me climb onto his back and runs towards the pile, holding the sheet in front of him like some kind of shield. He leaps onto the pile and we fly into the air, high above everyone else.

"WHAT'S WITH THAT HUGE EXPLOSION AT THE BACK??!!!!" Present Mic shouts. I could picture him standing up in shock, his jaw hanging open, and smile against Izuku's shoulder blades. We fly out of the pink cloud of smoke and everyone turns to look. I recognise a few heads, such as Mina, Kirishima and Kaminari, but everyone else was a complete blur. We pass over the heads of the two in front - Todoroki and Bakugou.

"IZUKU MIDORIYA AND ERIN ROLLER HAVE TAKEN THE LEAD!!!" Present Mic continues, hurting my ears. I wince at the loud noise just as we begin our downward arc, hurtling towards the earth. I start to float away from Izuku and am only held near him by my grip on his shirt. Todoroki and Bakugou run past us, using their Quirks to fly over the mines, and Izuku does a flip, planting his feet on their backs and slamming the metal plate onto a mine between them.

The mine explodes, blocking the other two while rocketing us forwards. I let go of Izuku and roll along the ground for a few seconds, then use my momentum to jump to my feet. My sprained ankle twists under the pressure and I almost fall forwards, but Izuku grabs the back of my shirt and hauls me to my feet. I ignore the rest of the pain, running beside him with aid from my Quirk.

I grin at him and his face turns red and he looks away, focusing on where he's going. I pretend to stumble in the tunnel leading back into the stadium, allowing him to run past me and take first place. I throw myself forwards for the last few metres, breaking my momentum by rolling along the ground again. I quickly scramble out of the way of the rest of the competitors so I'm not crushed and rest against a wall.